Vistara Airlines on 17 April tweeted a picture of Major General (retired) GD Bakshi, with their staff, stating that they were “honoured” to have him onboard. Calling him “a decorated Kargil war hero,” the tweet thanked Bakshi for his “service to the nation.” However, the tweet met with severe backlash from some Twitteratis.
Condemning the airlines for celebrating a man who has recently faced disapproval for his remarks on national television, many netizens threatened to boycott Vistara.
Twitter user, Salil Tripathi, writer for Live Mint and Caravan, called Bakshi a “bigot.”
Rohini Singh, a journalist, also expressed her discontent with the airlines.
Responding to the backlash, the airlines removed the image and issued a statement that in light of the “disrespectful” comments, they have decided to delete the tweet.
Why Was #BoycottVistara Still Trending?
In an ironic turn of events, #BoycottVistara started trending after the statement was released. Several Twitter users felt that the airlines had bent to the will of ‘liberals’ and in deleting the image, they were dishonouring the army veteran.
Abhijit Majumder, a journalist with MyNation, urged netizens to “not fly Vistara until it restores the post.”
Chandra Srikanth, Chief of Bureau at ET Now attacked the ‘liberals’ for their intolerance.
Taking a humorous dig at the entire situation, another Twitter user said this:
Major General GD Bakshi was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for commanding a battalion in the Kargil War. ThePrint reports that he has received criticism for his remarks in public speeches and television debates such as the recent allusion to a “whorehouse” and comments like “kabootar udane walo! Marjao chullu bhar paani me doobke.” (Peace-mongers! Die of shame.)
(With inputs from ThePrint.)
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